On May 19, 2024, the Chapter of Friends of the John Paul II Foundation in Vienna organized a solemn Mass on the Kahlenberg to celebrate the 104th anniversary of the Polish Pope’s birth and the 10th anniversary of his canonization. A homily was given by Fr. Marek Król, OFMcap from Vienna. Below is the full text.
According to Saint Luke in the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus Christ sent the Holy Spirit onto the Apostles gathered in the Cenacle. Thus begins a new era – the age of the Church, which, infused with the heavenly gift, begins to proclaim the joyful message of salvation in Christ. Through gifts such as wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, the Holy Spirit equips the faithful for mature engagement with the world.
On this feast day, we commemorate our revered saint, John Paul II, whose 10th anniversary of canonization and 104th birthday we recently celebrated. Let us also consider his legacy within the context of this significant feast. I must admit feeling somewhat overwhelmed in selecting from the abundant life and works of our esteemed Saint.
I have chosen to draw inspiration from today’s feast of Pentecost and reflect on a few words that were undoubtedly pivotal for John Paul II. It seems to me that even in Poland he grasped the significance of many concepts that profoundly shaped his ministry as the successor of Saint Peter. These crucial concepts were learned in our homeland and within our Church. We should further contemplate these words and ask ourselves whether they guide us Poles and our Christian faith toward the same values, love, and understanding of what truly matters.
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- Family
- Evangelization
- Testimony
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- Family
On the day of Pentecost, from the Cenacle emerged a community that we undoubtedly recognize as the seed of the Church. We remember that this community had gathered in the Cenacle 50 days earlier to celebrate Passover. We should therefore see them as a family, as Passover was traditionally celebrated within the family. The Church’s origins are deeply rooted in familial ties. Later, as more communities formed, Christians continued to gather in homes.
The family is the model of the Church. This means that the family is the place where the Church is born, where faith is passed on, where everything truly begins. The family is the first place where a person matures into their humanity, learns what it means to be human, and later, what it means to be a person of faith. This all stems from the Polish experience, from what the family means in our Polish way of thinking and our values. While many things can be said about us, no one can deny that the family is of utmost importance in Polish society. It is. It truly is. Thank God.
John Paul II’s profound teachings on the family, love, and even human sexuality—what we call the theology of the body—originated in Poland. He first wrote about it in the book “Love and Responsibility.” This is what he carried with him to Rome. John Paul II stood firmly in defense of the family. His teachings were resolute and passionate. In his “Letter to Families,” he wrote with clear conviction: “The history of mankind, the history of salvation, passes by way of the family.” In the remarkably timely apostolic exhortation Familiaris Consortio, he declared: “At the present time in history, when the family is the object of numerous forces that seek to destroy or deform it, the Church is fully aware that the well-being of society and her own well-being is closely bound up with the good of the family. She feels in a particularly vivid and compelling way her mission of proclaiming to all people the plan of God for marriage and the family” (FC, 3).
I believe John Paul II felt a painful wound in his heart when the news emerged that the European Parliament could not reach an agreement on the definition of the family. This fact was very serious and indicated a disorientation of the European conscience. Perhaps influenced by this troubling situation, the Pope threw himself, like an athlete, into the defense of the family. The World Meeting of Families, the Jubilee of Families, and his continuous messages to spouses and families are the fruit of persistent love and intelligent action aimed at re-educating nations and parliaments, shaping a true civilization.
If the family falls, what remains for society? If the family disappears, what signs will guide children on their life’s path? The confusion among young people is a consequence of the disarray in families. Perhaps in a few years or decades, we will better appreciate the work John Paul II did to restore the significance of the family. Over time, we will increasingly understand the truth in John Paul II’s statement: “The more holy and united the family is, the more united society will be. Conversely, the breakdown of society begins with the breakdown of the family.”
- Evangelization
The second word we hear in today’s liturgy is “Evangelization.” On the day of Pentecost, the Apostles, filled with the Holy Spirit, set out to evangelize. This word energized our Pope, who was tireless in his pilgrimages to the ends of the earth to proclaim the Gospel.
He emphasized clearly that today, Europe in particular needs a new evangelization. Europe is a continent where the cross must once again be erected as the sign of the Good News, as the symbol of the Gospel. In this world, with thousands, tens of thousands of churches, we still praise God. There are Christian structures, Christian culture, and the charitable efforts of various societies are significant, with numerous signs of Christianity present.
The Pope said: In this Europe, the cross must be raised anew. It is time for a new evangelization. Where did he learn this? Where did he first discover it? Where did the Pope first speak of new evangelization? In Brussels? No. In Berlin? No. In Amsterdam or in Vienna? No. In Nowa Huta.
In Nowa Huta, in Mogiła, in 1979. The Pope spoke of the need to erect the cross anew, knowing well that in the 13th century, the Cistercians brought the cross to Huta and erected it in Mogiła. After eight centuries, the same must be done again. The cross must be raised anew. This is also our responsibility for Europe. One can walk around invoking Christian roots, Christian culture, but it means nothing without erecting the cross and proclaiming the Gospel anew to everyone living on this continent. Every person has the right to know Jesus Christ, as Benedict XVI said. And John Paul II said: Start with Poland. Erect the cross anew in Poland.
Is it not striking that he said this to us in Nowa Huta? He had left Nowa Huta only eight months earlier for the conclave in Rome. He was not speaking of a Church he did not know. He spoke of the Church of which he was bishop. He spoke of a Church that had martyrs. He spoke of a Church of people who built a church in Nowa Huta, defying prohibitions, where no church was ever meant to stand. People paid for it with imprisonment, health, and life. And to these people, he said: “Erect the cross anew.” It is time for a new evangelization. To achieve this, one must be a prophet. One must have the vision of a Prophet.
- Testimony
Allow me to quote another passage from today’s Gospel: “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who proceeds from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also are witnesses, because you have been with me from the beginning.”
Pope Francis spoke during the canonization about one dimension of John Paul II’s testimony: his prayer. The testimony of prayer. Some remember his final pilgrimage, during which he prayed for a full hour in Calvary and at Wawel, in absolute silence. The television operators didn’t know what to do. How can you broadcast silence?
There is another aspect of testimony that manifests in heroic work. I wish to share the recollections of a member of the commission preparing materials for beatification. During the beatification process, all his correspondence had to be reviewed. It’s difficult to believe, but as the Bishop of Kraków, Karol Wojtyła corresponded with five thousand people.
It was calculated that he wrote an average of seven letters a day. He did this by opening the next letter wherever he was, reading it, and writing a response on the envelope. Then, in the secretariat, they would transcribe his reply. All the envelopes have survived, each bearing his handwritten response. Seven letters a day. And when he went away for a week, fifty more awaited his reply. This is a sign of extraordinary respect for people.
Among these five thousand correspondences, we find people ranging from those now recognized as saints in the Church, to popes, kings, presidents, and the simplest of individuals. For example, he writes to a woman that he is sending her money for coal. Or to someone else, he writes that he has interceded to get their child accepted into kindergarten. There was no letter to which he did not respond.
I don’t know how it is with you, but I am not capable of such heroism. Today, we correspond with each other via emails. It’s almost automatic – you click, and a reply is sent. Do you reply to all your emails? Today, it is a thousand times easier, almost effortless, yet he did everything by hand on envelopes, even while being a bishop, a cardinal, essentially the main representative of the Polish Church in the universal Church. He attended all the sessions of the Synod of Bishops, he was a Father of the Council.
Sisters and brothers, on the feast of Pentecost, we recall that the Holy Spirit is given to us in immeasurable abundance. Some of us are granted the grace to yield to the Spirit, through whom great miracles of God’s love are accomplished.
John Paul II was such a person, who through the intercession of Mary, Totus Tuus, completely submitted to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. His example encourages us also to open ourselves to the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
